Personal Computer Vs Personal Savior

Had a wonderful Pre-Xmas celebration with my care group beloved brothers & sisters in Christ. We had Pot luck kinda party where we each bring our best food to the table. I brought along a platter of fruits & a bowl of chocolate fondae, complimentary done by my younger sister, idea inspired by a sister in Christ, imagine chocolate with strawberry or Kiwi! The bad news is we over heated the chocolate in the microwave oven...so much so for the excitement!

We have a mass service on Sunday at Singapore Indoor Stadium for an English combine service as by the grace of God, the church is growing in an amazing speed, estimated to be at least fourteen thousand believers. Pastor preach about the secret to receive miracles, in short, believe in your heart, confess with your mouth & All things will come to a past!

He re-enforce the promises in Deuteronomy 28 where we are Bless with our basket , Bless shall we be when we come in, & Blessed shall we be when we go out. The Lord shall cause our enemies who rise up against us to be defeated before us; they will come out against us one way & will flee before us seven ways. We shall lend but not borrow. The Lord will make us the head & not the tail, & we only will be above, & will not be underneath! Amen?!

Let's talk about computers, our gateway to Internet access that leads us globally. Computers are a legalist, impersonal pragmatists. Push a button & get a response. Learn the system & get the printout. Blow the system & get ready for a long night. Computers are heartless creatures. Don't expect any compassion from your laptop. They don't call it a had disk for nothing. Some folks have a computer theology when it comes to understand God. God is the ultimate desktop. The Bible is the maintenance manual, the Holy Spirit is the CD & Jesus is the 1800- service number.

Call it computerized Christianity. Push the right buttons, enter the right code, insert the correct data & bingo, print out your own salvation. It's professional religion. We do our part & the Divine Computer does his. No need to pray . No emotional attachment necessary. And worship?. No kneeling. No weeping. No gratitude. No emotion. It's great-unless you make a mistake. Unless you err. Unless we enter then wrong data or forgot to save the manuscript. Unless we're caught on the wrong data or forget to save the manuscript. Unless we're caught on the wrong side of power surge. And then...tough luck, buddy, we're on our own.

Religion by computer. That's what happen when we replace the living God with a cold system; we replace inestimable love with pro-form budget; we replace the ultimate sacrifice of Christ with the puny achievements of man. When we view God as a computer & the Christian as a number-crunching, cursor-commanding, button pusher...that is religion by the computer. God hates it. It crushes His people. It contaminates His leaders, it corrupts His children. How do I know? He said so. Jesus condemns religion by the rules. With eyes blazing & pistols firing. Jesus rips hole after hole in the hot-air balloon of the Pharisees...

A person is made right with God through...Being good. A person is made right with God through goodness. Pay our taxes. Give sandwiches to the poor. Don't drive too fast or drink too much or drink at all. Christian conduct-that's the secret. Suffering. There's the answer. That's how to be made right with God-suffer. Sleep on dirt floors. Stalk through dank jungles. Malaria. Poverty. Cold days. Night-ling vigils. Vows of chastity. Saved heads, bare feet. The greater the pain, the greater the Saint...

No, no, no. The way to made right with God? All of above are tried. All are taught. All are demonstrated. But none are from God. In fact, that is our problem. None from God. All are from people. Think about it. Who is the major force in the above examples? Humankind or God? Who does the saving we or Him? If we are saved by good works, we don't need God-weekly reminders of the do's & don'ts will get us to heaven. If we are saved by suffering, we certainly don't need God. All we need is a whip & a chain & the gospel of guilt. If we are saved by doctrine then, for heaven's sake, let's study! We don't need God, we need a lexicon. Weigh the issues. Explore the options. Decipher the truth...

But be careful, student. For if we are saved by having exact doctrine, then one mistake would be fatal. That goes for those who believe we are made right with God through deeds. I hope the temptation is never greater than the strength. If it is, a bad fall could be a bad omen. And those we think we are saved by suffering, take caution as well, for we never know how much suffering is required. In fact, if we are saving yourself, you never know for sure about anything. We never know if we've hurt enough, wept enough or learned enough. Such is the result of computerized religion: fear, insecurity, instability. And most ironically, arrogance, making ourselves righteous without God.

That's right-arrogance. The insecure boast the most. Those who are trying to save themselves promote themselves. Those saved by work display works. Those saved by suffering unveil scars. Those saved by emotion flash their feelings. Dare we stand before God & ask Him to save us because of our suffering or sacrifice or our tears or our study? I dare not. "A person is made right with God through faith." Romance 3:28 Not through good works, suffering or study. All these may be the result of salvation but they are not the cause of it. How will we escape from God's judgment? Only one way. Through faith in God's sacrifice, His only beloved son, Jesus Christ. It's not what we do; it's what He did.

A personal computer would be different. In fact it wouldn't be a computer; it would be a friend. A friend who gives us what we need instead of what we request. A friend who knows more about us that we do. A friend who doesn't have to be turned off at night & on in the morning. A computer like that? Too much to ask, I know. A God like that? Still too much to ask. But that's what He is. Why else do you think He is known as our personal Savior?

Inspired by:

Max Lucado

The Fig Tree or the X'mas Tree?

The washing machine was washing as usual when I step near to enter the bath room for my shower after a late night work. My leg lost the grip on the floor & I fell as mum forgot to put the pipe in the drainage & the floor was flooding with liquid soap. The next moment, I was on the floor feeling great pain on my right ankle, in no time it swell & I shouted to my Dad for an ice bag. I applied the ice bag on my ankle before I bandage tightly applying simple first aid learning...

A sister in Christ who had worst experience calmed me down for that night. X-ray showed hairline fracture & the swelling was caused by the sprained. I refused to look at the X-ray film, telling myself not to look at my own flesh but the perfect work on the cross. As I refused to be admitted for observation & being in cast, the doctor ordered for a review on the next day, 14th of December, 2006.

16th of December was my much awaited Christmas celebration with the new care group, to fellowship with beloved brothers & sisters in Christ. I would not be able to attend if I am put on cast or hospitalized & it will be a dreadful Christmas & the worst New Year to come. I applied ice therapy through the 13th & 14th, pray in spirit & focus my pain & swelling on the old rugged cross. In the evening of 14th for review, a second X-ray was taken.

The first question of all was, "What did you do Godwyn with your ankle?" I told the doctor I prayed & applied ice therapy as I have no medical knowledge beyond that. I experience Divine healing, as I look at the first X-ray in comparison with the second, my ankle was completely healed! Halleluiah! I remembered in Matthew 21:21, it says in short, if you have faith, it will happen...

Our God wrote the book on making the impossible possible! In the scripture, it said, Jesus saw a fig tree on the side of the road. As He approached the tree, He noticed that though it had leaves, it had no fruit. So He denounced the tree. "You will never have fruit." The tree immediately dried up. The next day, the disciples saw what had happened to the tree. They were amazed. Just twenty-four hours before the tree had been green & healthy; now it is barren & dry...

"How did the fig tree dry up so quickly? They asked. Jesus gives them this answer," Truly I say to you, if you have faith & do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up & cast to the sea,' it will happen. And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." Matt 21:21-22 [NASB]

That is the way God intended it. He intends for all of us to live out our vows but with our own particular accent. For some, it is with an accent on the sick. For others, it is a concern for the imprisoned. Still others have a burden for scholarly research or giving. But whatever our accent the message is still the same.

The message of the fig tree is not for all of us to have the same fruit. The message is for us to have some fruits. Not easy. Jesus knows that. "If you have faith & do not doubt, you will be able to do what I did to this tree & even more." Faith in whom? Religion? Hardly. Religion is the hoax Jesus is out to disclose. Faith is not in religion; the faith is in God. A hardly, daring faith that believes God will do what is right, every time. And that God will do what it takes-whatever it takes-to bring His children home.

He is the shepherd in search of His lambs. His legs are scratched, His feet are sore & His eyes are burning. He scales the cliffs & traverses the fields. He explores the caves. He cups His hands to His mouth & calls into the canyon. And the name He calls is yours! God is the father pacing the porch. His eyes are wide with His quest. His heart is heavy. He seeks His prodigal. He searches the horizon.

He examines the skyline, yearning for the familiar figure, the recognizable gait. His concern is not His business, His investments, His owning. His concern is the son who wears His name, the child who bears His image. YOU. He wants you home. It is only in the light of such passion we can understand this incredible promise: "And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." Matt 21:22 [NASB]

The fruit God assures is far greater than earthly wealth. His dreams are much greater than promotions & proposals. God wants you to fly. He wants you to fly free of yesterday's guilt. He wants you to fly free of today's fears. He wants you to fly free of tomorrow's grave. Sin, fear & death. These are the mountains He had moved. These are the prayers He will answer. That is the fruit He will grant. This is what He longs to do: He longs to set you free so you can fly...fly home!

Inspired By:

Max Lucado

Excuse me, are you a Christian?

I will never abandon my blog neither I will forsake it, as faith comes from the listening/reading of the good gospel of Christ Jesus. Amen? Blogging allows me to fellowship with brothers & sisters in Christ from the World! I feed on the words & share as I believe Right believing produce Right living...sharing is loving as God is love...

Godwyn, how do you explain your sudden halt? Many medical issues had arose during past few weeks & my workload sank me down like the Tiatanic. I had two day surgeries done for my tootache, the surgeon did a Root Canal procedure. As my gums are truely sensitive, it took long while to stop the bleeding.

It was a highly painful event I doubt I will not forget. Things got more challenging with bad news that my Godpa's elder brother passed away peacefully with cancer on Friday morning. The next is the wake, sorrow & grief. Recent days fixing of my ingrowing toe nails make me limp daily to walk...these are the days. Daily, I told myself to put my eyes on the Perfect Finished work on the cross & looked away from my own flesh...it works as Christ always heal...

I'm not a religious person, I just believe in our relationship with our Abba in Heaven. When we think God is too busy for little people like us or too formal for poor protocol. When people are refused access to Christ by those cloest to him, the result is empty, hollow religion. Ugly religion!

God always hears those who seek him. The right heart with the wrong ritual is better than the wrong heart with the right ritual. Ideally, we approach God with the right motive & the right method. And sometimes we do. Sometimes the words of our prayer are as beautiful as the motive behind the prayer. Sometimes the way we sing is as strong as the reason we sing.

Sometimes our worship is an attractive as it is sincere. But many times it isn't. Many times our words falter. Many times our music suffers. Many times our worship is less than what we want it to be. Many times our appeals for God's presence are about as attractive as those of blind men on the Road. "You will seek Me, & find Me when you search for Me, with all your heart. I will be found by you." Jer.29:13 [NASB]

Ironic. of all the people, the blind turned out to be the ones with the clearest vision - even before they could see...

Inspired by:

Max Lucado

Our Father who is in Heaven

Toothache, heavy work load & much more are my lousy excuses for not blogging. I have been wondering about issues I cannot solve & reminding myself to let go let God. I am just confuse & trying to rob myself of great joy by going back to the bitter past. Some called it spiritual warfare, others might define it as habits...anyway manage to draft up a post before church service today for sharing as I miss all of you!

"Our father who is in heaven." God is. Not God was. Not God will be. Not God could be or should be, but God is. He is the God of the present tense. When we come to Christ, God not only forgives us, He also adopts us. Through a dramatic series of events, we go from condemned orphans with no hope to adopted children with no fear. Here is how it happens. We come before the judgment seat of God full of rebellion & mistakes. Because of His justice He cannot dismiss our sin, but because of His love he cannot dismiss us. So, in an act which stunned the heavens, He punished Himself on the cross for our sins. God's justice & love are equally honored. And we, God's creation, are forgiven. But the story doesn't end with God's forgiveness...

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God. Rom. 8:15-16 [NASB]

It would be enough if God just cleansed our name, but He does more. He gives us His name. It would be enough if God just set us free, but He does more. He takes us home. He takes us home to the Great House of God. God has adopted us. God sought us, found us, signed the papers & took us home...believe it or not, He did...

Our achievements, however noble they may be, are not important. Our credentials, as starry as they may be, are of no concern. God is the foundation of our life. The key question in life is not "How strong am I?" but rather "How strong is God?" Focus on His strength, not ours. Occupy ourselves with the nature of God...

And we though God adopted us because we were good looking. We thought He needed our money or our wisdom. Sorry. God adopted us simply because He wanted to. We were in His good will and pleasure. Knowing full well the trouble we would be & the price He would pay, He signed His name next to ours and changed our name to His and took us home. Our Abba adopted us & became our Father...

To some, the thought of trusting a Heavenly Father is doubly difficult because our earthly father might have disappointed us or mistreated us. If such is the case, I urge you: Don't confuse your Heavenly Father with the fathers you've seen on earth. Your Father in Heaven isn't prone to headaches & temper tantrums. He doesn't hold us one day & hit us the next. The man who fathered us may play such games, but the God who loves us never will...

May I remind you, this adoption is something we receive, not something we earn...

Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor ruling spirits, nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us, nothing below us, nor anything else in the World will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 8:38-39

Our Father will never turn us away. When the words of others hurt you or your own failure distress you, step in the house of God. Gaze at this painting & be reminded of our God: It is right to call Him Holy; we speak truth when we call Him King. But if we want to touch His heart, use the name He loves to hear. Call Him Father...Daddy

Inspired by:

Max Lucado

In love with you...

Isn't it good to know that even when we don't love with a perfect love, Jesus does? Flat out from work but on my book mark it wrote: But seek first His kingdom & His righteousness, & ALL these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33 Just blog on, leave the work for just a moment...

When it comes to love, feeling rule the day. Emotions guide the ship. Goose bumps call the shots. But should they? Can feelings be trusted? Can a relationship feel right but be wrong? Heads are nodding. A single mum is nodding. A college kid with a broken heart is nodding. Feelings can fool you. Teenage girl who is puzzled by the lack of feelings she has for a guy. Before they started dating, she was wild about him. The minute he showed interest in her, however she lost interest...ever been there?

"Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth" 1 Cor. 13:6 [NIV] In this verse lies a test for love. Do I encourage this person to do what is right? For true love "takes no pleasure in other people's sins but delights in the truth" 1 Cor. 13:6 [JB]. If you find yourself prompting evil in others, heed the alarm. This is not love. And if others prompt evil in you, be alert. Check the room key.

Classic example. A young couple are on a date. His affection goes beyond her comfort zone. She resists. But he tries to persuade her with the oldest line in the book: "But I love you. I just want to be near you. If you loved me..." That siren you hear? It's the phony-love detector. This guy doesn't love her. He may love having sex with her. He may love her body. He may love boasting to his buddies about his conquest. But he doesn't love her. True love will never ask the "beloved" to do what her or she thinks is wrong. Love doesn't tear down the conviction of others. Quite contrary. "Love builds up" 1 Cor. 8:1 "Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light & will not cause anyone to stumble" 1 John 2:10

Love never celebrates misfortune. You know your love is real when you weep with those who weep & rejoice with those who rejoice. You know your love is real when you feel for others. Real love changes people. Didn't God's love change you? Weren't you, like the prisoner, blind? You couldn't see beyond the grave. You couldn't see your purpose in life until He showed you. And you couldn't hear either. Oh, your ears functioned but, your heart didn't understand. You'd never heard of such love & kindness, & you never would have heard of it, but God spoke in your language. And, most of all, He set you free. You are free! Free to run away. Free to harden your heart. Free to duck down side streets & hide behind trash cans. But you don't. Or if you do, you come back. Why? Because you've never been loved like this before...

And does Christ rejoice when you do what is right? Certainly. "The Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love" Psalm 147:11 [NIV] Does He weep when you do? Absolutely! He is the "God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times 2 Cor. 1:3-4 [MSG]. Do you want to know what love is? "This is what real love is: It is not our love for God; it is God's love for us in sending his Son to be the way to take away our sins" 1 John 4:10 Isn't that good news?!!

When it comes to love:

Be careful: Make sure you're in the right hotel. Before you walk down the aisle, take a good long look around. Make sure this is God's intended place for you. And, if you suspect it isn't, get out. Don't force what is wrong to be right. And until love is stirred, let God's love be enough for you. There are seasons when God allows us to feel the frailty of human love so we'll appreciate the strength of His love. David wrote these words in the desert: "Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you...My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods." Psalm 63:3,5 [NIV]

Be prayerful: What if it's too late? Specifically, what if we're married to someone we don't love - or who doesn't love us? Many choose to leave. That may be the step you take. But if it is, take at least a thousand others first. And bathe every one of those steps in prayer. Love is a fruit of the Spirit. Ask Christ to help you love as He loves. "God has given us the Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with His love" Roman 5:5 [CEV]. Ask everyone you know to pray for you. Your friends. Your family. Your church leaders. Get your name on every prayer list available. And, most of all, pray for &, if possible, with your spouse. Ask the same God who raised the dead to resurrect the embers of your love.

Be grateful: Be grateful to those who love us. Be grateful for those who have encouraged us to do what is right & applauded when we did. Do you have people like that in your World? If so, you are doubly blessed. Be grateful for them. And be grateful for our Father in Heaven. He passes the test with ease.

Christ always nourishes what is right. He always applauds what is right. He has never done wrong, led one person to do wrong, or rejoiced when anyone did wrong. For He is love, & love "does not rejoiced when anyone did wrong. For He is love, love "does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. 1 Cor. 1:6 [NASB].

Inspired by:

Max Lucado & a dear sister in Christ

H2O vs. Jesus Love

H2O the Chemical representation for Water. No one really know how much water is there on earth. We use it, depend upon it, would perish without it...but measure it? We can't. Ever thought about it before you drink a glass of water...

H2O bring to mind another unmeasured pool? It might. Not a pool of water but a pool of love. God's love. Aquifer fresh. Pure as April snow. One swallow slackens the thirsty throat & softens the crusty heart. Immerse a life in God's love, & watch it emerge cleansed & changed. We know the impact of God's love. But the volume? No person has ever measured it. I failed to measure it during my recent weeks of trials where Christ embraces me with His love daily...

Want to see the size of God's love? "Ascend the winding path outside of Jerusalem. Follow the dots of bloody dirt until you crest the hill. Before look up, pause & hear me whisper, "This is how much I love you."

Whip-ripped muscles drape His back. Blood rivulets over His face. His eyes & lips are swollen shut. Pain rages at wildfire intensity. As He sinks to relieve the agony of His legs, His airway closes. At the edge of suffocation, He shoves pierced muscles against the spike & inches up the cross. He does this for hours. Painfully up & down until His strength & our doubts are gone...

Does God love you? Behold the cross & behold your answer. God the Son died for you. Who could have imagined such a gift? The though that Abba in Heaven will give anything moved me daily from fear to joy. I pray for Christ's ways to be in me daily. "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; & walk in love, just as Christ also loved you & gave Himself up for us, an offering & a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma." Eph 5:2 [NASB] What species of devotion is this? Find the answer under the category "unfailing". The holiness of God demanded a sinless sacrifice, & the only sinless sacrifice was God & the Son. And since God's love never fails to pay the price, Christ did. God loves you with an unfailing love...

What would lead God to do something greater? Love. Trace the greatest action of God to the greatest attribute of God - His love. "It's not about me." If it's not about me, does God care for me? God's priority is His glory. He occupies center stage; I carry props. He's the message; I'm but a word of His love? No doubt. Do you really want the World to revolve around you? If it's all about you, then it's all up to you. Your Daddy rescues you from such a burden. While you are valuable, you aren't essential. You're important but no indispensable. Still don't think that's good news?

Our Father knows our limitations. He's well aware of our weaknesses. You can no more die for your own sins than you can solve World hunger. And, according to Him, that's fine. The World doesn't reply on us, yet God loves us too much to say it's all about you. He keeps the cosmos humming. We sprinkle sawdust on oil spots & thank Him for the privilege. We don't know what it takes to run the World, & wise are we who leave the work to His hands. To say that "It's not about you" is not to say you aren't loved; quite contrary. It's because Abba loves us that it's not about us!

And, oh, what a love this is. It's "too wonderful to be measured" Eph 3:19 [CEV] But though we cannot measure it, may I urge you to trust it? Some of us are so hungry for such love. Those who should have loved you didn't. Those who could have loved you wouldn't. We were left at the hospital. Left at the altar. Left with an empty bed. Left with a broken heart. Left with your question, "Does anybody love me?" Please listen to heaven's answer. As you ponder Him on the cross, hear Jesus assure, "I do". Amen?!

When it comes to water, we'll find the limit. But when it comes to His love. We never will...

Inspired by:

Max Lucado

The Tongue Is a Fire

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have it's perfect result, so that you may be perfect & complete, lacking nothing." James 1:2-3 [NASB] For the past few weeks, our family have been encountering various trials after my younger sister was discharged from the hospital, I watched her going through painful medical tests, I felt deeply hurt in my heart, though I put up a strong face. The doctor will review her, this coming Tuesday, 3rd of October, pray with us for the good news that we expect to hear & thank all of you for the prayers that comfort us through...

I never thought I will be unwell but near to 2 weeks ago, out of a sudden night, I went on high fever & flu. The physician diagnosed me as viral flu, kept me at very high dose of anti-biotic. I went back to the same physician twice with really bad tummy pain & I was diagnosed with Viral & Stomach flu that takes 2 to even 4 weeks to recover. Problems arise from work, I have to bear with my pain to bring my sister for medical checkups, and I would say it is one of the biggest trials I endured so far this year. The stomach flu, viral infection, my sister complex medical conditions are simply pure deceptions of satan as in the book of James, we are promised, endurance have it's perfect result, so that we may be perfect & complete, lacking nothing! No medical! No financial lack! Complete as Jesus said it is finished! Amen?!

I want to share a short testimony surely it will bless you: I was fellowshipping with a sister in Christ over a conversation. I can't clearly remembered how we hit on the topics on installing air-conditioners at home as Singapore is a hot & humid country, her mum objected it for years as she thought the condensing unit for the air-conditioners will be near her room, the noise will affect her. We pray about it and a few days later, her mum actually suggested getting air conditioner units for the house! Halleluiah! When we speak, Jesus is in our midst as He said when two or more are gathered, my presence will be felt! It is written in the Bible as well, when two shall agrees, it shall happen on earth as it is in Heaven. Godwyn, so what's the big deal? The 'big deal': our God we serve is a good God who can do the impossible! If you are praying, pray big as we are children of most high God, Jesus will make it happen, at the right time, right place...Amen?!

Let's go into the words of God. Remember the two criminals on the cross with Jesus? One of them punches on Christ: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself & us!" The words thrown that day were meant to wound. And there is nothing more painful than words meant to hurt. That is why James called the tongue the fire. Its burns are every bit as destructive & disastrous as those of a blow touch. I'm not telling you anything new. No doubt you've had your fair share of words that wound. Perhaps the words were intended to hurt you, perhaps not; but that doesn't matter. The wound is deep. The injuries are internal. broken heart, wounded pride, bruised feelings.

Or it maybe your wound is old. Though the arrow was extracted long ago, the arrowhead is still lodged...hidden under your skin. The old pain flares unpredictably & decisively, reminding you of harsh words yet forgiven. If you have suffered or are suffering because of someone else's words, you'll be glad to know that there is a balm for this laceration. Meditate on Words from 1 Peter 2:23

When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; When He suffered, He made no threats, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.

Did you see what Jesus did not do? He did not retaliate. He did not bite back. He did not say, "I'll get you" "come on up here & say that to my face!" "Just wait until resurrection, Buddy!" No, these statements were not found on Christ's lips. Did you see What Jesus did do? He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. Or said more simply, He left the judging to God. He did not take on the task of seeking revenge. He demanded no apology. He hired no bounty hunters & sent out no posse. He, to the astounding contrary, spoke on their defense. "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing"...

Yes, the dialogue that Friday morning was bitter. The verbal stones meant to sting. How Jesus, with a body wracked with pain, eyes blinded by His own blood, & lungs yearning for air, could speak on behalf of some heartless thus is beyond my comprehension. Never, never have I seen such love. If ever a person deserved a shot at revenge, Jesus did. But He didn't take it. Instead He died for them. How could He do it? I don't know. But I do know that all of a sudden my wounds seem very painless. My grudges & hard feelings are suddenly childish...

Sometimes I wonder if we don't see Christ's love as much in the people He tolerated as in the pain He endured. Amazing Grace...

Inspired by:

Max Lucado

Wilderness

Sister was discharged, not because she is well, she feared staying in the hospital [at a young age, I can understand]. Thus, medical procedures are being arranged in this month for out-patient medical procedures. I just pray with perfect love, it casts out fear. She was diagnosed with possible periodic paralysis with history of laparoscopic adhesiolysis & appendicectomy...

My Godpa who is a doctor, never was sick till such extreme was admitted to the hospital with the ambulance last Wednesday morning collapsing at home, before he could visit his patients, how ironic isn't it? He is very dear to me, in fact I am closer to him than my Dad. Physicians did all kinds of test, believe he might have suffered Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) that might lead to a stroke if not treated with care. Discharged on Saturday morning, with prayers, medication & a good rest, he will be well but he has yet willingly to pray the Salvation prayer...I'm trying. For the weeks, I keep telling myself daily I can do all things through Christ! Indeed, it is finished...

Grief can lead you into the desert. So can divorce or debt or depression. Been through transitions lately? A transfer? Job promotion? Job demotion? A new house? If so, be wary. The wilderness might be near. How do you know when you're in one? You are lonely. Whether in fact or in feeling no one can help, understand or rescue you. And your struggle seems endless. In the Bible the number 40 is associated with lengthy battles. Noah faced the rain for 40 days. Moses faced the desert for 40 days. Jesus faced temptation for 40 nights. Please note, He didn't face temptation for 1 day out of 40. "Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days, being tempted by the devil" The battle wasn't limited to 3 questions. Jesus spends a month & ten days slugging it out with satan. The wilderness is a long, lonely winter...

A tough marriage can make a good man look twice at the wrong woman. Extended sickness can makes even the stoutest soul consider suicide. Stress makes the smokiest nightclub smell sweet. The wilderness weakens resolve. For that reason, the wilderness is in the maternity ward for addictions. Binge eating, budget-busting gamble, excessive drinking, pornography - all short-term solutions to deep-seated problems. Typically they have no appeal, but in the wilderness you give thought to the unthinkable....

Second Adam has come to succeed where the first Adam failed. Jesus however, faces a test more severe. Adam was tested in a garden; Christ is in a stark wasteland. Adam faced satan on a full stomach; Christ is in the midst of a fast. Adam had a companion: Eve. Christ has no one. Adam was challenged to remain sinless in a sinless World. Christ, on the other hand, is challenged to remain sinless in a sin-ridden World. Trust His word. Don't trust your emotions. In the wilderness heed only the voice of God...

Again, Jesus is our model. Remember how satan teased Him? "If you are the Son of God..."[Luke 4:3,9 NCV] Why would satan say this? Because he knew what Christ had heard at the baptism. "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased [Matt. 3:17] "Are you really God's son? Satan is asking. Then comes the dare - "Prove it!" Prove it by doing something: "Tell the stone to become bread" [Luke 4:3] "If you worship before me, it shall all be Yours" [v.7] "Throw yourself down from here" [v.9]

What a subtle seduction! Satan doesn't denounce God; he simply raises doubts about God. [Ever caught in one?] Is His work enough? Earthly works - like bread changing or temple jumping - are given equal billing with heavenly works. He attempts to shift, ever so gradually, our source of confidence away from God's promise & toward our performance. Jesus doesn't bite the bait. No heavenly sign is requested. He doesn't solicit a lightning bolt; He simply quotes the Bible. 3 Temptations. 3 Declarations. "It is written..." [v.4 NCV]. "It is written..." [v. 8 NCV]. It is said... [v.12]

Jesus' survival choice is Scripture. If the Bible was enough for His wilderness, shouldn't it be enough for ours? Don't miss the point here. Everything you & I need for dessert survival is in the Book. We simply need to heed it. "God is...higher than the heaven." [Job 22:12 TLB]. "The LORD is high above all nations" [Ps 113:4]. Can He not see what eludes us? Doesn't He wants to get us out & bring us home? Then we should do what Jesus did. Rely on the Scripture. Doubt your doubts before you doubt your beliefs. God is constantly & aggressively communicating with the World through His word. God is speaking still!

Hang in there. Your time in the desert will pass. Jesus' did. "The devil left Him; & behold, angels came & began to minister to Him" [Matt. 4:11] Till the angels come to you:

Trust His word - We need a voice to lead us out.
Trust His work - We need a friend like Jesus to take our place.

Thank God we have One who will. My wilderness in these 16 days, I survive with "I can do all things through Christ". So can you...

Inspired by:

Max Lucado

Loneliness

Loneliness, a word familiar to us and many has endured. I read an interesting material by Max Lucado that reflects my 17 years wondering in the wilderness though I accept Christ at a young age of 13. I never have any relationship with Jesus till I hit rock bottom 3 years ago. Here the story goes...

Godwyn's struggles weren't unusual. He was the paragon of the confused human being. Half of his life was fantasy, half was nightmare. He was not a social outcast. He was respectable. He hosted parties. He wore designer clothes & had an apartment that overlooked a World class casino. Though surrounded by people, he was on an island. Though he had many acquaintances, he had few friends. Though he has many lovers, he had little love. Godwyn felt so old. Unloved. Unwanted. Abandoned. Used up. He wants to cry & sleep forever...

Loneliness. It's a cry. A moan, a wail. It's a gasp whose origin is the recessed of our souls. Can you hear it? The abandoned child. The divorcee. The quiet home. The empty mailbox. The long days. The longer nights. A one-night stand. A forgotten birthday. A silent mobile phone. Cries of loneliness. Listen again. Tune out the traffic & turn down the TV. The cry is here. Our cities are full of Godwyns. You can hear their cries. You can hear them in the convalescent home among the sighs & the shuffling feet. You can hear them in the prisons among the moans of shame & the calls for mercy.

This moan is a minor key knows all spectrums of society. From the top to the bottom. From the failures to the famous. From the poor to the rich. From the married to the single. Godwyn was not alone. Many of you have been spared this cruel cry. Oh, you have been homesick or upset a time or two. But despair? Far from it. Suicide? Of course not. Be thankful that it hasn't knocked on your door. Pray that it never will. If you have yet to fight this battle, you are welcome to read on if you wish, but I'm really writing to someone else...

I am writing to those who know this cry firsthand. I'm writing to those of you whose days are book ended with broken hearts and long evenings. I am writing to those of you who can find a lonely person simply by looking in the mirror. For you, loneliness is a way of life. The sleepless nights. The lonely bed. The distrust. The fear of tomorrow. The unending hurt. When did it begin? In your childhood? At the divorce? At retirement? At the cemetery? When the kinds left home?

None knows that you are lonely. On the outside you are packaged perfectly. Your smile is quick. Your job is stable. Your clothes are sharp. Your waist is thin. Your calendar is full. Your walk brisk. Your talk impressive. But when you look into the mirror, you fool no one. When you are alone, the duplicity ceases & the pain surfaces...

The most gut-wrenching cry of loneliness in history came not from a prisoner or a widow or a patient or Godwyn. It came from a hill, from a cross, from a Messiah. "My God, my God," He screamed, "Why did you abandon me!" Never have words carried so much hurt. Never has one being been so lonely. And now on Skull's hill, the sin bearer is again alone. Every lie ever told, every object ever converted, every promise ever broken is on His shoulders. He is sin...

God looks away. The despair is darker than the sky. The two have been one are now two. Jesus, who had been with God for eternity is now alone. The Christ, who was an expression of God, is abandoned. The Trinity is dismantled. The Godhead is disjointed. The unity is dissolved. It is more Jesus can take. He withstood the beatings & remained strong at the mock trials. He watched in silence as those He loved ran away. He did not retaliate when the insults were hurled nor did He scream when the nails pierced His wrists. But when God turned His head, that was more than He could handle.

"My God!" The wail rises from parched lips. The holy heart is broken. The sin bearer screams as He wanders in the eternal wasteland. Out of the silent sky come the words screamed by all who walk in the desert of loneliness. "Why? Why did you abandon me?" Sounds familiar some how? I can't understand it. I honestly cannot. Why did Jesus do it? Oh, I know, I know. I have heard the official answers. "To gratify the old law." "To fulfill prophecy." And these answers are right. They are. But there is something more here. Something very compassionate. Something yearning. Something personal...

I kept thinking of all the people who cast despairing eyes toward the dark heavens & cry "Why?" And I imagine Him I imagine Him listening. I picture His eyes misting & a pierced hand brushing away a tear. And although He may offer no answer, although He may solve no dilemma, although the question may freeze painfully in midair, He who also was once alone, understands.

Yet know this, Christ did this so that He can say, "I will never desert you nor will I ever forsake you!" Heb 13:5 [NASB] "I am the same yesterday & today forever!" Heb 13:8 [NASB]

P:S Please Pray With Us [29 August 2006]

My younger sister, Joyce had been admitted to the hospital [Doctor said it might take at least one week or more to diagnose], for her long-standing problems that many doctors could not diagnose.

She is at a gentle age of 16 but had gone through innumerable pain at various medical Institutions. Please pray for the Lord's wisdom to be anointed with the doctors examining her, in receipt of the cause of the medical issue, unravel her misery once & for all.

The fact: She was hospitalized. The Truth: The Lord had healed her on the cross! Amen?!

In 1st John 4:17 [NASB] says, "...He is, so also are we in this World." Jesus is perfectly well, so also is Joyce [We] in this World! Amen?!

Inspired By:

Max Lucado

Abandoned

The week before where I was down with gastric flu, I felt 'abandoned' as no one was at home. Parents were off for functions & my siblings were busy with their church activities. The complete quietness was deafening...

Abandoned by family? Abandoned by a spouse? Abandoned by big business. But nothing compares to being abandoned by God. On the Cross, Jesus cried out a loud shout, "Eli Eli, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "My God my God Why Have You Forsaken me?" [Matt 27:46 NASB] Our Father in Heaven abandoned His Only Son [Earth's only sinless soul] so that we can live through eternity! God loves sinners but hate sins, thus Jesus was the only way out for our salvation! Oh how Great is our God Amen?!

Abandon. The house that no one wants. The child no one claims. The parent no one remembers. The Savior no one understands. He pierces the darkness with heaven's loneliest question: "My God, My God, Why did you abandon me?"

In this hour Jesus is anything but righteous. But His mistakes aren't His own. "Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross so we would stop living for sin & start living for what is right" [1 Peter 2:25 NCV] Christ called all our sins in His body...

May I get specific for a moment? May I talk about sin? Dare I remind you & me our past is laced with outbursts of anger, stained with night of godless passion, & spotted with undiluted greed? Suppose your past was made public? Suppose you were to stand on a stage while a film of every secret & selfish second was projected on the screen behind you?

Would you not crawl beneath the rug? Would you not scream for Heavens to have mercy? And would you not feel just a fraction...just a fraction of what Jesus felt on the cross? The icey displeasure of Sin-Hating God?

Jesus carried all our sins in His body...See Jesus on the cross? That's a gossiper hanging there. See Jesus? Embezzler. Liar. Bigot. See the crucified carpenter? He's a wife Beater. Porn addict & murderer. See Bethlehem's boy? Call Him by His other names - Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden. Hold it Godwyn, Don't you lump Jesus with evildoers. Don't you place His name in the same sentence with theirs! I didn't. He did. Indeed He did more. More than place His name in same sentence, He placed Himself in their place. And yours...

With hands nailed open, He invited Jesus,” Threat me as you would treat them!" And God did. In an act that broke the heart of the Father, yet honored the holiness of Heaven, sin-purging judgment flow over the sinless Son of the ages. The lamb of God who took away the sin of the World...

"My God, my God, why did you abandon me?" Why did Christ scream those words? So we'll never have to.

Inspired by:

Max Lucado

Mattew 6

For days, I rest in pain being diagnosed firstly having irritable bowel, with a second review from the doctor that I am suffering from gastric flu. Quiet time with the Lord daily is my main source of enduring the physical pain while I have heaps to share but the pain kept me away from writing my new entry...it's not about me but all about Jesus as without Him, I am just an empty vessel that makes the most noise...

Since the start of the day, Matthew 6:33 kept echoing in my mind, "But seek [aim at & strive after] first of all His kingdom & His righteousness [His way of doing & being right], & then all these things taken together will be given you besides.]" Matt 6:33 [Amplified Bible] The Lord said, Seek me first, I will give you all you need! Halleluiah! The next line read, "So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow for tomorrow will have worries & anxieties of it's own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble." Matt 6:34 [Amplified Bible] I have been worrying about everything from family, friends to work. Yet the Lord said, Not to worry as we are the Children of Most High God Amen?! A good God who loves us not to base upon our obedience but the Grace of His son, Christ Jesus...

"Christ in you the hope of glory". "In that day you will know that I am in my father & you in Me, & I in you." John 14:20 NASB The Lord says, "I am" & that is the mystery of the gospel of...Christ Jesus

Jesus is in you & me! Christ is the force in you, & He will do what you cannot! Can't stop drinking? Christ can. And He lives within you. Can't stop worrying? Christ can. And He lives within you. Can't stop forgive the jerk, forget the past, or forsake your bad habits? Christ can! And He lives within you...With Christ in you, you have a million resources that you did not have before!

Through my short episode of physical trial, I realize one thing, God seems less interested in talent and more interested in trust. When we assist or resist, we miss God's great grace. We miss out the reason we were placed on earth. "I have been crucified with Christ; & it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; & the life which I now live in flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me & gave Himself up for me." Gal 2:20 [NASB]

My steps, but Christ leading. My heart, but His love beating in me, through me, with me. So much Him, so little of me that in my eyes it's Him they see. No Longer I, but Christ in me.

Inspired by:

Max lucado

Sa Tan

The coach shouted instructions to the players frantically, hoping to win the mindset of the opponent, the reward? A goal for the winning team. The devil whispering lies into our mind, the reward? Another lost soul, back slide by his deceptions...

The violent rages of a father. The secret binges of a mother. The sudden rebellion of a teenager. Maxed-out credit cards. Internet pornography. Satan does not sit still. Spiritual warfare as much as you can deny, it is real...

Self-imposed pain. The demoniac used rocked. We are more sophisticated; we use drugs, sex, work, violence, & food. Obsession with death & darkness. Even unchained, the wild man loitered among the dead. Evil feels at home there. Communing with the deceased, sacrificing the living, a morbid fascination with death & dying - this is not the work of God...

Endless restlessness. The man on the eastern shore screamed the day & night [Mark 5:5] Isolation. The man is all alone in his suffering. Such is Satan’s plan. "Be well balanced [temperate, sober of mind], be vigilant & cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon & devour." 1 Peter 5:8 [Amplified Bible] Fellowship will foils his work. & Jesus. Jesus wrecks his work. Christ steps out of the boat with both pistols blasting. "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" [Mark 5:8 NASB]. No chitchat, No niceties. No salutations. Demons deserve no tolerance. They throw themselves at the feet & mercy of Christ...

"My name is Legion; for we are many." & he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. [Mark 9-10, NASB] Legion is a Roman military term. A roman legion involved six thousand soldiers. To envision that many demons inhabiting this man is frightening but not unrealistic. The demons are not only numerous, they are equipped. A legion is a battalion in arms. Satan & his friends come to fight. Hence, we are urged to 'take the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, & having done everything, to stand firm" [Eph. 6:13]

"We are fighting against forces & authorities & against rulers of darkness & powers in the spiritual world" [Eph 6:12 CEV]. The devil is a strong devil. But and this is the point of passage, in Jesus's presence, the devil is a wimp. Satan is to Jesus what a mosquito is to an atomic bomb. How hell's court cowers in Christ's presence! Demons bow before him, solicit him, & obey him. They can't even lease a pig without His permission. Then how do we explain Satan's influence? Satan can disturb us, but he cannot defeat us. The head of the serpent is crushed by Jesus! Halleluiah! Thank you Jesus...

"God disarmed the evil rulers & authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross of Christ." [Col. 2:15 NLT] So how does that leave us? Confident. The punch line of the passage is Jesus' power over Satan. One word from Christ, & the demons are swimming with the swine, & the wild man is 'clothed and in his right mind" [Mark 5:15] Just one command! No séance needed. No hocus-pocus. No chants were heard or candles lit. Hell is an anthill against heaven's steamroller. Jesus "commands...evil spirits, & they obey Him" [Mark 1:27 NCV] The snake in the ditch & Lucifer in the pit- both have met their match...

And yet, both stir up dust long after their defeat. For that reason through confident, we are still careful. Satan spooks our work, disrupts our activities, & leaves us thinking twice about where we step. Which we need to do. Alertness is needed. Panic is not. The serpent still wiggles & intimidates, but he has no poison. He is defeated, and he knows it! "He knows his time is short" [Rev. 12:12 CEV]...

"Little children, you are of God [you belong to him] & have [already] defeated & overcome them [the agents of the antichrist], because He who lives in you is greater [mightier] than he who is in the World. [1 John 4:4 Amplified Bible]. Believe it. Trust the work of your Savior. "So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], & he will flee from you. [James 4:7 Amplified Bible] "Draw near to God & He will draw near to you." [James 4:8 NASB]...

Inspired by:

Max Lucado

Inside Out

The weeks battling with Satan over my health, just like I always like to say, the Lord fights in all battles, we simply stand still & receive the victories. It is important to proclaim from your mouth, believe in your heart & a miracle you need, a miracle you will receive Amen?! I truly believe the God we serve is a good God, so close, calling Him Father, even Abba, seems to be distant; He is our dear Daddy in Heaven! Who constantly bless us with His mercy & loving kindness, Oh How Great is our God...

Jesus changes our nature from the inside out! "A new heart I will give you & a new spirit will I put within you, & I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh & give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you & cause you to walk in my statutes, & you shall heed my ordinances & do them." Ezekiel 36: 26-27 [Amplified Bible] Jesus doesn't send us to obedience school to learn new habits; He sends us to the hospital to be given a new heart. Forget training; He gives transplants...

You want to go to Heaven? Doesn't matter how religious you are or how many rules you keep. You need a new birth; you need to be "born of water & the Spirit." God gives no sponge baths. Washes us from head to toe. Paul reflected on his conversion & wrote: "He gave us a good bath & we came out of it new people, washed inside & out by the Holy Spirit." [Titus 3:5 MSG] Your sins stand no chance against the fire hydrant of God's grace. But more in needed. Jesus is not content to clean you; He indwells you. Jesus deposits within you "His power, which mightily works." [Col. 1:29]

Don't for a microsecond think God does this with you. Washing the outside isn't enough for Him. He places power on the inside. Better stated, He places Himself on the inside. God is constantly working in us Amen?! Religious as Saint Peter's Square, but feeling just as old? Pious, but powerless? If so, may I remind you of something?

When you believe in Christ, Christ works miracle in you. "When you believe in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit." [Eph 1:13 NLT]. You are permanently purified & embowered by God Himself. The message to the religious person is simple: It's not what you do. It’s what Jesus does. Jesus has moved in. And in time we can say with Paul, "I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me." [Gal. 20:20 NLT]

If that is true, Godwyn why do I still sputter? If I'm born again, why do I fall so often? Why did you fall so often after your first birth? Did you exit the womb wearing cross-trainers? Of course not. And when we started to walk, we fell more than we stood. Should we expect anything different from our spiritual walk?

But I fall so often I question my salvation. Again, we return to your first birth. Didn't you stumble as you were learning to walk? And when you stumbled, did you question the validity of your physical birth? Did you, as a one-year-old fresh flopped on the floor, shake your head & think, I have fallen again. I must not be human?

Of course not. The stumbles of a toddler do not invalidate the act of birth. And the stumbles of a Christian do not annul his spiritual birth. Do you understand what God has done? He deposited a Christ seed in us. As it grows, you will change. It's not that sin has no more presence in your life, but rather that sin has no power over your life. Temptation will pester you, but temptations will not master you. What hope this brings! It's not up to us! Within us abides a budding power. Trust Jesus!

Do you like the old person or the new? Do you count yourself as having a new heart or old? You have a choice to make. You might say, "I can't climb stairs; I'm too weak." Does our choice negate the presence of a new heart? Dismiss the work of the surgeon? No. Choosing the elevator would suggest only one fact- we haven't learned to trust out new power. It takes time. But at some point you've got to try those stairs. You've got to test the new ticker. You've got to experiment with the new you. For if we don't, we will run out steam...

Religious rule keeping can sap your strength. It's endless. There is always a class to attend, Sabbath to obey. Ramadan to observe. No prison is as endless as the prison of perfection. Her inmates find work but never find peace. How could they? They never know when they are finished...

Christ, however, gifts you with a finished work. He fulfilled the law for us! Bid farewell to the burden of religion. Gone is the fear that having done everything, you might not have done enough. We climb the stairs, not by our strength, but His. Jesus pledges to help those who stop trying to help themselves.

"And I am convinced & sure of this very thing, that He began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] & perfecting & bringing it to full completion in you." [Phil. 1:6 Amplified Bible] Break every strongholds of the Devil & trust the power in you, Christ the hope of Glory!

Inspired By:

Max Lucado

DTPs

Remember viral infections were treated by doctors & quarantine meant the isolation of diseased people & pets? No Longer. Nowadays computer get sick. I was infected with gastric flu that brought me down a single week, yet I pushed on with my work leading to stairways of nowhere. I was diagnosed with ulcers deep in the throat that generated high fever, dizziness & great fatigue. Finally my system ‘crashed’ resulted in the much needed rest...

Think of our mind as a computer made to store & process massive amounts of data. Think of our strengths as software. Pianists are loaded with music programs. Accountants seem to be born with spreadsheet capacity. Fun lovers come with games installed. We are different, but we each have a computer & software, & sadly, we have viruses. You & I are infected by destructive thoughts...[I was suffering in depression silently]

Computer viruses have names like ILOVEYOU, Klez & Chernobyl. Mental viruses are known as anxiety, bitterness, anger, guilt, shame, greed & insecurity. They worm their way into our system & diminish, even disable, our mind. We call these DTPs: destructive thought patterns. Do you have any DTPs? When you see the successful, are you jealous? When you see the struggler, are you pompous? Ever argue with someone in your mind? Rehash or rehearse your hurts? Do you assume the worst about the future? If so, you suffer from DTPs...

What would our world be like without then? Had no dark or destructive thought ever entered your mind, how would you be different? Suppose you could relive your life sans any guilt, lust, vengeance, insecurity, or fear. Never wasting mental energy on gossips or scheming. Would you be different?

Oh, to be DTP-free. No energy lost, no time wasted. Wouldn’t such as person be energetic & wise? A lifetime of healthy & holy thoughts would render anyone a joyful genius. But would you find such an individual? An uninfected computer can be bought - but an uninfected person? Impossible. Trace a computer virus back to a hacker. Trace our mental viruses back to the fall of the first man, Adam. Because of sin, our minds are full of dark thoughts. "Although they knew about God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile & their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools" [Rom. 1:21-22 NIV]...

Blame DTPs on sin. Sin messes with the mind. But what if the virus never entered? Supposed a person never opened Satan's emails? What would that person be like? A lot like the twelve-year-old boy seated in the temple of Jerusalem. Though He was beardless & unadorned, this boy's thoughts were profound. The boy name Jesus...

Why? What made Jesus different? The Bible is silent about His IQ. When it comes to the RAM size of His mental computer, we are told nothing. But when it comes to His purity of mind, we are given astounding claim: Christ "Knew no sin" [2 Cor. 5:21] Even the demons declared His unique status, "I know who you are-the Holy One of God!" [ Luke 4:34 NIV]...

The loudest testimony to His perfection was the silence that followed this question. When His accusers called Him a servant of Satan, Jesus demanded to see their evidence. "Which one of you convicts Me of sin?" [John 8:46]. Ask around my circle of friends to point out my sin, and watch the hands shoot up. When those who knew Jesus were asked this same question, no one spoke. Christ was followed by disciples, analyzed by crowds, criticized by family & scrutinized by enemies, yet one person would remember Him committing even one sin. He was never found in wrong place. Never said the wrong word. Never acted the wrong way. He never sinned. Not that He wasn't tempted, mind you. He was "tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" [Heb 4:15]...

Lust wooed Him. Greed lured Him. Power called Him. Jesus-the-human-was tempted. But Jesus-the-Holy God-resisted. Contaminated email came His way, but He resisted the urge to open it. The word sinless has never survived cohabitation with another person. Those who knew Christ best, however spoke of His purity in unison & with conviction. And because He was sinless, His mind was stainless. DTP-less. No wonder people were "amazed at His teaching" [Mark 1:22 NCV]. His mind is virus-free...

But does this matter? Does the perfection of Christ affect me? If He were a distant Creator, the answer would be NO. But since He is our Savior & redeemer, the rely is a super sized YES! We are made to be like Christ! God's priority is that we be "transformed by the renewing of your mind" [Rom. 12:2 NIV]. You may have been born virus-prone, but you don't have to live that way. There is hope for your head! Are you a worrywart? Don't have to be one forever. Guilt plagued & shamed stained? Don't have to be one forever. Prone to anger? Jealousy? Jesus can take care of that. Jesus can change your mind...

God answers our prayers. He changes the man by changing the mind. And how does it happen? By doing what we are doing right now. Considering the glory of Christ. "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit" [2 Cor. 3:18]. To behold Him is to become like Him. As Christ dominates your thoughts, He changes you from one degree of glory to another until - hang on! - you are ready to live with Him. How Great is our God! Amen?!

Heaven is the land of sinless minds. Virus-free thinking. Absolute trust. No fear or anger. Shame & second-guessing are practices of prior life. Heaven will be wonderful, not because the streets are gold, but because our thoughts will be pure. So what are you waiting on? Apply God's antivirus. "Set you mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died & your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory." [Col. 3:2-4]

Inspired by:

Max Lucado

God knows...

It's the start of the new week, works are piling up, stress is building up full steam ahead...I learn one thing new this week, apart from looking away from our flesh to the complete work of the Christ on the cross, the Lord says He knows our stress...

Jesus is Himself. Not an angel. Not an ambassador. Not an emissary, but Jesus himself! Shared fully. Not partially. Not nearly. Not to a large degree. Entirely! Jesus shared fully. In all our experience. Every hurt. Each ache. All the stresses & all the strains. No exceptions. No substitutes. Why? So Jesus could sympathize with our weaknesses...

Jesus knows how you feel. From the wake to the factory to the frustration of a demanding schedule. Jesus understands. When you tell God you've reached your limit, He knows what you mean. When you shake your head at impossible deadlines, He shakes His, too. When your plans are interrupted by people who have other plans, He nods in empathy. He has been there. He knows how you feel...

Jesus knows how you feel. You're under the gun at work? Jesus knows how you feel. You've got more to do than is humanly possible? So did He. You've got children who makes a 'piranha hour' out of your dinner house? Jesus knows what that's like. People take more from you than they give? Jesus understands. Your teenagers won't listen? Your students won't try? Your employees give you blank stares when you assign tasks? Believe me, friend, Jesus knows how you feel...

The story of God who became human, sounds familiar? Jesus did! So that you & I would believe that the Healer knows our hurts, He voluntarily became one of us. He placed himself in our position. He suffered our pains & felt our fears...

Rejection? Jesus felt it. Temptation? Jesus knew it. Loneliness? Jesus experienced it. Death? He tasted it. And stress? He could write the best selling book about it! Why did He do it? One reason. So that when you hurt, you will go to Him - your Father & your Physician & let Him heal!

You are precious to Jesus. So precious that He became like you so that you would come to Him. When you struggle, Jesus listens. When you yearn, He responds. When you question, He hears them...Jesus battles with hell itself to protect you...

For in Luke 1:37 [Amplified Bible] it says, "For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment." Hang in there, Jesus knows...

Inspired By:

Max Lucado

And I will remember your sins no more...

And I will remember your sins no more...

Says Who? We have to repent! Confess our countless sins daily, why? To be holy? Fear of losing our salvation? Hebrews 8: 12 [NASB] written in the Bible says, “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And I will remember their sins no more.” Says Jesus, again in Hebrews 9:17 [NASB], “And their sins & their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”…

This is the New Covenant, we are redeemed not by the blood of goats & bulls but by the blood of Christ, Son of God, thus our sins are paid, yesterday, today & tomorrow Amen?! Seekers of popularity, power, & pleasure. The end result is the same: painful unfulfillment…

God doesn’t just forgive, he forgets. He erases the board. He destroys the evidence. He burns the mirco film. He clears the computer. He doesn’t remember our mistakes. For all the things He does do, this is one thing he refuses to do. He refuses to keep a list of our wrongs. When we ask for forgiveness He doesn’t pull out a clipboard & says, “But I’ve already forgiven you for that seven hundred & seventeen times.”…

“As far as east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 203:12 [NSAB] “Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you white as wool!” Isaiah 1:18 [TLB]

No, He doesn’t remember. But I do, you do. You still remember. You’re like me. You still remember what you did before you changed. In the cellar of your heart lurk the ghosts still linger of yesterday’s sins. Sins I’ve confessed; errors of which I’ve repented; damage I’ve done my best to repair…

And though I’m a different person, the ghosts still linger. Though I’ve locked the basement door, they still haunt me. They float to meet me, spooking my soul & robbing my joy. With wordless whispers they remind me of moments when I forgot whose child I were. That horrid lie. That jealousy. That Habit. That Date. The time I exploded in anger…

Do you think God sent that ghost? Do you think God is the voice that reminds me of my past? Do you think God was teasing when He said, “I will remember your sins no more?” To love conditionally is against Jesus nature. Just as it’s against our nature to eat trees & against mine to grow wings, it’s against Jesus nature to remember forgiven sins…

You see, Jesus is either the God of perfect grace…or He is not God Grace forgets. Period. He who is perfect love cannot hold grudges. If Jesus does, then He isn’t perfect love. And if Jesus isn’t perfect love, you might as well stop reading this blog and go kite flying, because both of us are chasing fairy tales…

But I believe in His loving forgetfulness. And I believe He has a graciously terrible memory. Think about this. If He didn’t forget, how could we pray? How could we sing to Jesus? How could we dare enter into His presence if the moment He saw us He remembered all our pitiful past? How could we enter His throne room wear the rags of our selfishness & gluttony? We couldn’t…

“For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Galatians 3:27 [NASB] We have ‘put on’ Christ. When God looks at us He doesn’t see us; He see Christ! We ‘wear’ Jesus. We are hidden in Jesus; we are covered by Jesus…

Presumptuous, you say? Sacrilegious? It would be if it were my idea. But it isn’t; it’s Jesus. We are presumptuous not when we marvel at His grace, but when we reject it, And we’re sacrilegious not when we claim His forgiveness, but when we allow the haunting sins of yesterday to convince us that God forgives but He doesn’t forget...

Do yourself a favor. Purge your cellar. Exorcise your basement. Take the Roman nails of Calvary & board up the door. And remember…Father God forgot…

Inspired By:

Max Lucado

The Prodigal Son

A great testimony & encouragement wrote by Brother Chong. The loving kindness & mercy of Christ Jesus touches deep down in my Heart witnessing the truth that set us free! Gory to the Lord always:

To: Whoever in the same trial as me

During February this year, there was a lottery with the 1^st price of S$10 million, I prayed very hard for it hoping I could clear all my debts which were due to my poor management on finance & have the quality of life I wanted, I trust the Lord will give it to me.

When the results are announced, I didn’t win the first prize, I was really upset & felt betrayed by the Lord. I went through a few weeks of anger, frustration & hurt. I started calling God all kinds of names & calling Christian hypocrite & completely stop attending church. During those few weeks, I told myself I only believe in me & deny the existence of God, but there was warfare within me, I kept denying & the Holy Spirit kept prompting me. I nearly went insane when the Holy Spirit keep speaking to me, I started cursing & swearing out loud!

My brother in Christ, Godwyn contacted me now & then although I thought God have left me, He got Godwyn to talk to me, he knew what I was going through and gentlemanly step back and stop talking about God to me for those time, we went out together often & the strange thing was that I am the first to say something on God without knowing it, immediately after I said it, I denied my words & believed what I said was rubbish. However, brother Godwyn always says, once save, forever save, there is no way I can get out of God’s hand…

One day in march, I was resting on my chair at home, I heard a scratching sound beside me, I opened my eyes & I saw no one, I was quite scared as it was quite dark, I suddenly commanded any unclean things in my house to leave in Jesus name, as I was quite tired, I feel asleep quite immediate. Later, I told myself what’s this? Why should I called the name of Jesus? I think I was really insane…

About 2 weeks later, I was had severe toothache every night, the pain started first in the night & happen during the day as well. I used salt water to rinse my mouth the pain subsided for awhile but slowly the salt water lost it’s effect. I had to use ice cube to numb the nerves in my tooth as the pain was tremendous. It worked when the ice cube was in my mouth, but when it melted, the pain came back. In the evening my brother said he was going to the supermarket & asked me what I needed. Without any hesitation, I asked him to buy me a pack of ribena, meanwhile I still continued to suffer the pain...

When he came back, I still think what could ribena do while all failed, I never pray to God at all when I suffered the pain, miracle happened when I took the ribena, the first sip of ribena in my mouth led to the immediate lost of pain for my severe toothache. The pain had never came back since then…[Ribena is used to represent the blood of Jesus Christ, where I was taught the wonders of Holy Communion in our Church]

Early last month, I was feeling lost & wondered around the city. Before I realized where I was, I was standing outside the church, I didn’t know how I get there & I met a church brother who spent time talking to me & telling me God has never left me not forsake me even when I call him all kinds of names. After a few session with him [brother in Christ from the church], I found that how stupid I had behaved with all the negative thoughts of the Lord. I contacted brother Godwyn & told him I am going back to Church. One night while we fellowship at a food center, I told him the miracle healing of my toothache, He told me actually, I had taken communion, when I suffered the toothache, the Lord shows His goodness, mercy and loving kindness on me even I denied Him & cursed Him with all kinds of names…

Later that night, I was thinking how good our Father in Heaven is to me! He never fell off His mercy sit or send lighting to strike on me when I called Him all kinds of rubbish names. He does not look at me to judge me but to the one sitting on His right side, which is our Lord Jesus Christ…

Finally for those who have the same trial as me, The people of the World is going for the lottery win so that they can have the money which they thought could let them have the quality of life. Money is not evil but the love of money is evil, when you go after Jesus, all the blessings [finance, health, relationship etc] will come after you & bless you more than you can imagine. He who gets the son gets everything, God will never know what is enough & will give you boat sinking, net breaking load of fishes, just like what Jesus did for Peter…

So, just remember our Father God loves us more than we can love ourselves. No matter which profession or what you did, He loves you beyond your imagination. Jesus had paid for the consequence of sin of your entire life whether it is past, present or future.

Father God will run to you & hug you like what He had done to me...

The Prodigal Son - Chong